Each of the five buildings in St. Peters Colony is named after a Jesuit Saint – St. Francis Xavier, St. John De Britto, St. John Berchman, St. Stanislaus Kostka and St. Ignatius Loyola. The residents celebrate their building feast on the Saints Memorial Day. Earlier the building feasts were celebrated on a very grand scale. There was usually a Mass followed by a get-together with music, dancing, games and an elaborate dinner cooked by the “Aunties”.

With the passage of time, the enthusiasm with which the building feasts are celebrated has been diluted. Sadly, some buildings have stopped celebrating altogether. The reasons are many: the youngsters have moved away, the old folks can no longer climb to the terrace, there are several house-bound or ailing seniors and of course some neighbours are at war with each other!

After several years of a lull in celebrations, this year the De Britto-ites had a wonderful time at their building feast. Nine flats out of sixteen helped in making this a gathering to remember. After going to Church for Mass, everyone trudged up to the terrace which was gaily decorated with balloons and streamers. The music which included old favourites Englebert and Jim Reeves had the young and old swaying. The quiz and group games saw enthusiastic participation by all those present. Lunch was ordered, not prepared by the Aunties, but was none-the-less lip-smacking. We wound up after two rounds of Housie. There were several new members who did not know their neighbours until they attended the fellowship. We had loads of fun and hope to have an even better time next year.

We sincerely wish all the buildings in the colony revive this celebration that fosters neighbourly goodwill.